The Jockey Club Releases 2016 Breeding Statistics

The Jockey Club today reported that 1,863 stallions covered 36,045 mares in North America during 2016, according to statistics compiled through September 13, 2017. These breedings have resulted in 21,624 live foals of 2017 being reported to The Jockey Club on Live Foal Reports.

The Jockey Club estimates that the number of live foals reported so far is approximately 90 percent complete. The reporting of live foals of 2017 is down 1.7 percent from last year at this time when The Jockey Club had received reports for 21,991 live foals of 2016.

In addition to the 21,624 live foals of 2017 reported through Sept. 13, The Jockey Club also received 2,467 No Foal Reports for the 2017 foaling season. Ultimately, the 2017 registered foal crop is projected to reach 22,500.

The number of stallions declined 3.1 percent from the 1,923 reported for 2015 at this time last year, while the number of mares bred declined 2.5 percent from the 36,964 reported for 2015.

The 2016 breeding statistics are available alphabetically by stallion name through the Resources – Fact Book link on The Jockey Club homepage at jockeyclub.com.

“It is important to note that the live foals reported in The Jockey Club breeding statistics are by conception area and do not represent the state in which a foal was born,” said Matt Iuliano, executive vice president and executive director, The Jockey Club. “Breeding statistics also are not a representation of a stallion’s fertility record.”

Kentucky annually leads all states and provinces in terms of Thoroughbred breeding activity. Kentucky-based stallions accounted for 49.7 percent of the mares reported bred in North America in 2016 and 57.3 percent of the live foals reported for 2017.

The 17,912 mares reported bred to 245 Kentucky stallions in 2016 have produced 12,396 live foals, a 1.7 percent increase on the 12,184 Kentucky-sired live foals of 2016 reported at this time last year. The number of mares reported bred to Kentucky stallions in 2016 increased 1.8 percent compared to the 17,598 reported for 2015 at this time last year.

Among the 10 states and provinces with the most mares covered in 2016, only three produced more live foals in 2017 than in 2016 as reported at this time last year: Kentucky, California, and Maryland. The following table shows the 10 states and provinces, ranked by number of state/province-sired live foals of 2017 reported through Sept. 13, 2017.

The statistics include 394 progeny of stallions standing in North America but foaled abroad, as reported by foreign stud book authorities at the time of publication.

The report also includes 92 mares bred to 25 stallions in North America on Southern Hemisphere time; the majority of these mares have not foaled.

Jockey Jose L. Ortiz and owner Juddmonte Farms Inc. finished the year as the leading rider and owner, respectively, by earnings for the first time while Chad Brown repeated as the top earner for trainers.

The Jockey Club announced today that one trainer has been denied all privileges of The American Stud Book for 10 years and that three other trainers have been denied the same privileges for one or two years. All actions became effective January 1, 2017.